When Zarachi heard Morgan's request, she froze. It wasn't just surprise — it was as if the air had been ripped from her chest all at once. Her hands trembled slightly, and for a second she didn't seem sure whether this was real or some cruel joke of fate.
"A-are… are you serious?"
( Said Zarachi, stammering, her voice breaking between disbelief and fear. )
Morgan tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a disarming purity, almost painful in its sincerity.
"Yes, of course… why?"
( Said Morgan innocently, as if his wish were the most natural thing in the world. )
Zarachi let out a nervous laugh that failed to hide her discomfort.
"Well… I don't know if you know this, but this house isn't exactly the most popular… hahaha."
( Said Zarachi with some embarrassment, glancing at the floor for a moment. )
Morgan didn't hesitate.
"I know. Sataná told me everything."
( Said Morgan with a calm smile, as if he had already accepted that fate. )
Zarachi frowned, worried.
"Then you know you shouldn't—"
But before she could finish, Morgan grabbed her hands tightly, though they trembled with emotion. His eyes shone, wet and burning with determination.
"And that's exactly why I want to join! No! Please, let me join!"
His voice echoed through the cabin like a desperate heartbeat.
So much emotion left Zarachi speechless. She had never seen someone beg so joyfully to join the worst house of all.
"B-But only those considered useless, talentless, and hopeless come here… and from what I've heard, you are anything but that. Surely the other houses will want you."
( Said Zarachi, confused and distressed. )
Morgan shook his head, still holding her hands.
"That doesn't matter to me. I want to be here. Please, let me stay here."
( Said Morgan pleading, his heart overflowing in his voice. )
He took a deep breath and continued with a seriousness that sent chills through the room:
"I know this place was created by Miss Luzbel. This is important to her… and I don't want anyone to look down on the good deed she did by creating this house. So please… let me join this house."
( Said Morgan emotionally, almost reverently. )
Then he bowed deeply in supplication.
Zarachi looked at Sataná. Sataná simply smiled and nodded slowly.
Zarachi closed her eyes, breathed in… and smiled.
"Hahaha… alright. I see you're someone full of energy. I welcome you to the House of Ahura Mazda."
( Said Zarachi with great joy, though a glimmer of uncertainty remained in her eyes. )
Morgan's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
( Said Morgan, eyes shining, trembling with emotion. )
"Yes. It will be wonderful to have you here. As captain of this house, I officially welcome you, Morgan."
( Said Zarachi, extending her hand cheerfully. )
Morgan responded with a perfect military salute.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! It will be an honor to be under your care, captain!"
( Said Morgan proudly and gratefully. )
Zarachi laughed, but her smile slowly faded.
"Very well… very well. This is the part where I would introduce you to the other members… but, to be honest, right now I'm the only one left."
( Said Zarachi, lowering her head in shame and sadness. )
Sataná tensed immediately.
"What? What do you mean? What happened to the others?"
( Said Sataná, alarmed. )
Zarachi pressed her lips together.
"Well… you see… the others left. They said they had no reason to stay in this academy, that nothing would change what they were… that it made no sense to remain here because it only reminded them how useless and failed they felt. So they simply left, returned to their homes… and accepted that destiny."
( Said Zarachi sadly, her voice breaking. )
"Damn… that's not good."
( Said Sataná, frustrated and angry. )
Morgan frowned.
"Why? What's wrong?"
( Said Morgan, confused. )
Zarachi swallowed hard.
"If a house cannot maintain at least five members within a certain period… the house will be erased forever."
( Said Sataná, anxiously biting her nail. )
Zarachi nodded, on the verge of tears.
"Yes… so if I can't recruit at least three more members, this place will cease to exist."
Her voice trembled.
"I tried… I really tried to make them stay, but they wouldn't listen. Now the place Teacher Luz created for us will disappear… all because I couldn't convince them."
( Said Zarachi crying, covering her face. )
Sataná immediately stepped forward and hugged her.
"Calm down. This isn't your fault. You did everything you could… you stayed. That's more than enough."
( Said Sataná comforting her. )
Morgan stepped forward with a smile.
"Then we just have to bring in more members, right?"
( Said Morgan confidently. )
Zarachi lifted her face, confused.
"Huh?"
"I said, if we want to stop this place from disappearing, we need to bring in more members, don't we?"
( Said Morgan seriously. )
Zarachi sighed pessimistically.
"Yes, but no one wants to join… no one wants to be labeled as trash."
(Morgan smiled confidently.)
"Don't worry, captain. I'll take care of bringing in new members."
Zarachi looked at him hopelessly.
"What? Didn't you hear? Nobody wants to join us! How could you possibly do that?"
( Said Zarachi sadly and pessimistically. )
Morgan straightened himself.
"I don't know… but I'll do it. I promise I will. Trust me, captain. I'll find a way to bring in new members."
( Said Morgan proudly and optimistically. )
When Zarachi tried to respond, Sataná stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. Zarachi turned, and Sataná smiled.
"Trust him. He can do it."
( Said Sataná softly. )
Zarachi looked at Morgan and Sataná. Their expressions disarmed her.
"Hahaha… fine. I guess I have no choice. I'm counting on you, Mochi."
( Said Zarachi with a smile. )
Morgan blinked.
"Of course, you can count on me, captain… wait, did you just call me Mochi?"
( Said Morgan confused. )
Zarachi laughed.
"Hahaha… well, it's getting late. Look at the time… night is already falling. You should head back. I still have things to sort out here."
( Said Zarachi smiling. )
Morgan stepped forward.
"Oh, if you want, I can help you, captain."
Sataná stopped him.
"No, no, no. You've already had enough action for today. You need to rest."
( Said Sataná firmly. )
"But I want to heeeelp!"
Sataná and Galahad gently pushed Morgan toward the exit.
"See you later, Miss Zarachi."
( Said Sataná kindly. )
"Waaaait!"
( Said Morgan trying to stay. )
"Goodbye, I'll see you soon, hahaha."
( Said Zarachi waving and smiling. )
They finally managed to pull Morgan out of the cabin and take him to his room. Zarachi sat on the sofa, leaned her head back, and murmured tiredly:
"I guess I have no choice but to trust him… hahaha."
Night had already fallen.
"Well… I think it's time for me to go. I need to return to my lady and report everything that happened."
( Said Sataná kindly. )
"I see… you should rest too. I've caused you a lot of trouble lately, haha."
( Said Morgan embarrassed. )
"Haha… just a little."
( Replied Sataná with a small laugh. )
"Well, Morgan, Galahad… rest. Tomorrow I'll come for you and take you to your classroom for your first day."
( Said Sataná with a smile. )
"Yes, thank you. I'm counting on you."
( Replied Morgan, raising his thumb. )
Sataná said goodbye and left.
Morgan entered his room with Galahad.
"Ahhh… today was such a tiring day."
( Said Morgan stretching and yawning. )
He looked at Galahad tenderly.
"You can sleep on the be—"
But Galahad was already deeply asleep on the bed.
"Haha… I caused you trouble today too. Rest well… sweet dreams."
( Said Morgan softly. )
He covered her with a blanket and lay down on the couch.
"Haha… I always wanted to be part of a fraternity like in the movies… now I think I can start the change I want to make… if I can make the house win those games… I can change things… I can do it… I can do it…"
His voice faded. He fell asleep.
Sleep came.
He found himself in a black, infinite, suffocating space. Thousands… hundreds of thousands of figures surrounded him, their silhouettes twisting like living smoke.
They all whispered at once:
"Have you already forgotten me…?"
Morgan curled up, covering his ears and closing his eyes, trembling.
Then a warm, maternal voice echoed:
"Oh, poor child… let me chase away those bad dreams."
The shadows vanished.
Morgan began to float gently, as if falling into nothingness. He felt safe… at peace.
Suddenly, someone held him in their arms. A figure knelt and laid him on their lap.
A hand caressed his hair with infinite tenderness.
Morgan opened his eyes and saw his mother.
"M-Mom…?"
( Asked Morgan in shock, crying. )
She smiled sweetly.
"Calm down, my child. Mommy is here. Mommy will chase away all those nightmares… so sleep, sleep, my child."
( Said she tenderly. )
"Mom… I… are you really…?"
( Said Morgan tearfully, full of emotion. )
She wiped his tears.
"Shhh… rest, my child, rest."
Morgan fell asleep again.
As he slept, the figure changed with each caress: her blonde hair became long and black, her blue eyes turned bright turquoise, her tattoos disappeared, her clothes transformed into a blanket of stars and cosmos, jade ornaments glowed on her neck and ears, and serpents coiled around her arms.
She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
And with a voice that mixed love, tenderness, sadness, and pain, she whispered:
"Oh, my child… my poor child. They have sent you to this lost world. Those gods have used you as a means to settle their dispute, to answer their question and prove who is right.
They have thrown you into a world full of beasts and abominations, where light is barely a withered memory and shadows devour everything they touch.
There you will walk among watching eyes, smiles that hide fangs, hands that promise comfort but deliver pain.
Your pure heart will be tested. Your kindness will be crushed. Your spirit torn apart by a cruelty without name.
But listen to me, my child.
You will be my last gift to this lost world. The final light in the darkness. The last kind smile in a place that has forgotten kindness.
Son of man… son of nature… my son.
You will be both the wound and the cure. The fire that guides through the darkest nights.
Break yourself. Die. Be reborn.
Remain true to yourself.
If others choose hate, you choose love. If you shatter, rebuild yourself again and again, nobler, kinder, fuller of love.
Forgive when you shouldn't. Forgive those who don't deserve it, even if that is a sin.
And if you forget… remember who you are. Let your tears set the sky ablaze. Let your pain shake the foundations of this rotten world.
Walk among the shadows, my child. Suffer without surrendering.
Because you were not made from the same mold. You were born from the purest love and the noblest compassion.
And there, both gods and this world will see it: they all failed.
Because even in the world of the abominable, in the most burning and cruel hell, there was one who refused to fall and become another cog in that rotten system…
but instead devoured his destiny and shone in the midst of darkness."
End of chapter.
Next chapter: Popularity.